The Portland daily press., 1887-02-07
PRICE THREE CENTS.

whlle the Drldge az StrOudwater has been re
duced az the expense Of the city, from 67S
feet 70 40 feet, the city shall support thC
whole length Of the original bridge. so thai
there are 635 feet Of solid road bed built by
the city Of Portland, with solid walls and
solid tlling. which the city Is still obliged 10
keep up. as well as the 40 feet that are left Oi
the original bridge. This Is simply eOmpell-
ing the city Of Portland, at a largely increas.
ed expenditure above what the town Of
Deering could do the same work for, TO &c
out TO the village Of StrOudwater, to haul It's
materials out there, transfer its workmen
and maintain 63S feet Of solid road bed, as
well as 40 feet Of planking on local road In
that village The change Of conditions and
circumstances Is such as upon the face OF II
plainly to require change Of this old law.
There are only two wonders about 10, first.
that II has not been done before, and second
ly that any fair man In town Of Deering OBJ
Iects TO Its being done now,
All this Is true, and with many even more
positive circumstances requiring change Of
the law, as 10 Pride's bridge. Falmouth
proper, the present town, never had any use
for Pride's bridge, and should have nothing
to do with supporting Il. IL Is not on the
road from Falmouth to any place. II Is over
the PresumpscOt river, between the towns
Of WestbroOk and Deering. In thlekly pop
ulated section, with villages upon both sides
OF the river, In Deering aud WestbrOOk, and
within mile or two Of the bridge. Sacea-
Kappa and Cumberland Mills, two o. the
wealthlest villages in Maine stretch from
just above the bridge, fsF two 81 three miles
along the river. Both Of these villages are
In WestbrOOk Portland has expended large
sums Of money upon the bridge, and Il Is
now permanent structure, with solid gran
lte piers, solid abutments and fills 80 feet
long at each end Of the bridge, and an iron
bridge, all built by the city Of Portland, at
very large expense, and requiring but a COM
paratively small expenditure any year 10 keep
II up. In 1886 this bridge was In wilder
ness, and its principal use was as a means Of
communication between Portland and q
small settlement north Of Falmouth, In the
present town Of Windham. There was some
reason for Portland being required to main
tain 1t because II had little relation TO the
rest Of the town Of Falmouth, its principal
use being as communication from the small
settlements In the wilderness TO Portland.
Now 10 is in daily use by large part Of
the citizens Of Deering and Westbro0k, In a
region filled by pOpulOus villages In these
towns, aud instead of being great burden IL
has become comparatively slight one. This
old act Of the Massachusetts Legislature con-
tinues in force in Maine under the general
provisions Of the Act Of Separation. It Is
the only thing which imposes any duty upon
the city Of Portland TO support this bridge,
and the change Of circumstances and cOndi-
ti0ns in regard to 1t is so entire and absolute
as not only TO require the repeal Of the old
law, but TO render its continuance an injus-
tice without parallel In the history Of this
State. These bridges are situated In the
towns Of Deering end WestbrO0k, and
should be supported as the other bridges are
by the towns in which they are situated. IL
there were In the first place any exceptional
circumstances TO impose that extraordinary
burden upon the city Of Portland, they have
long since passed away, and Deering and
Westbrook are amply able 70 do what other
towns do, and what the law should require
Qf arf krid
It Is said that Deering and Westbrook
made certain arrangements at the time Of
the division in regard 20 the support Of the
OtheI bridges In these two towns. Suppose
they did. They both knew that the Leglsla-
ture could at any time transfer the support
Of these two bridges TO them, and would be
likely to do it at any moment when its atten-
tiOn was called to them. Pride's bridge Is
half in Deering and half in Westbrook, so
that there Is nothing in that to disturb any
which they made at thgdlyi-
sion. II belongs to each Of them 30 support
half Of the bridge. There is aothing left at
about 40 feet Of planking, and the burden Is
me that Deering should support In any
went. IL would be no hardship 10 them 10
10 il. They escape the ordinary burdens
which other towns bear II they do not do II.
There Is hardly town In the State that Is
o free from bridges to support as the town Of
)eering. At the hearing before the commit
ee at Augusta. Deering could not show that
has TO sustain more than about so feet OF
That can properly be called bridges In the
Whole town. 1t Is unusually free from bur
lens in this respect, while the city Of Port
and, In addition to its other immense bur-
lens, supports the whole of Tukey's bridge
nearly half mile long ffOm shore 70 shore
{ an expense Of about $1,000 a year, giving
he town Of Deering a free highway into the
ity without expense, although about one
lalf of that bridge is in the town Of Deering.
Vaughan's bridge costs the city about
$500 a year, the over head bridge about
1900 year, while there are Deering' bridge
md other smaller bridges, and the county
ridges, Of which the city pays three-6fths.
The taxes In Deering are about fourteen or
fteen dollars on thousand, and Westbreok
ixteen or seventeen dollars on a thousand,
while in Portland In recent years they have
anged all the way from twenty 70 thirty
ollars on athousand. The towns Of Deering
nd WestbroOk have recently erected large
md very expensive school houses and made
nanyIOther expensive public improvements,
md, while their taxes In no way compare
Win the taxes in Portland, they have had the
Iirect benefit Of the large amounts which the
ity of Portland has invested IN railroads,
md their rapid increase of wealth aud pOpu-
alton is largely due to Portland men and
Cortland capital. Within three years the
population Of Westbr0Ok has Increased from
our thousand to six thousand, and S6OO.0OO
tally the same Is true Of the town Of Deer
ng. A large part Of the expenditures which
hese two towns have made upon roads, as
vas shown at the hearing before the commit
zee, has been in the opening and building OF
new streets within the vicinity Of Portland
md at the principal villages in Westbr0Ok,
,aused by the overflow Of wealth and popu-
alton from Portland into these towns. The
great rule and policy Of our law Is Tor bridges
% be supported by the towns in which they
are situated, unless In some instances where
il IS done by the county generally. Ihis IS
the safety Of public travel, that the care OF
bridges should be intrusted to the population
which Immediately surround them. Special
effort and expense has TO be made Dy
The street department In Portland Tor
the oversight Of these two distant
bridges, and considerable time IS likely to
alapse before the city can be notified OF any
lefect which may occur In them. This IS an
danger to public travel, Ihe
work upon the bridges cannot be done 50
,heaply or economically by Portland as II
could be by the towns where they are. IL Is
safe to say II cost Portland double what It
would cost Deering OF Westbrook to do the
same work.
The simple facts Of the case are that these
bridges are situated in the midst OF wealthy
and populous communities; that they have
immediate and direct relation 20 these com
towns In which they are situated, and that
they have no special relation or Importance
to the City Of Portland. All the facts and
which would make the case Of
these bridges in any sense an exceptional
one have long since passed away, and the
single section Of the statute under which the
duty Of maintaining them rests upon the
CITY Of Portland should be repealed. Port
land has never been disposed to be niggardly
in any respect in its relations to its neighbor-
ing towns. 1t supports and expects TO sup
port the whole Of Tukey's bridge although
half OF il Is in the town Of Deering; and that
bridge furnishes a direct communication and
the principal avenue from large part OF the
town Of Deering into the city. The city
took this when 1t was toll bridge and made
IL a public highway. 1t Is where the officers
of the street department can have the over
sight Of 1t and the city finds no fault about
it and expects 70 maintain 1t In the future as
it has in the past, but 1t does not believe that
the Legislature will continue 10 require II to
90 out into the towns Of Deering and West
brook three and six miles, In the midst OF
large and lOuTishing communities and sup
port two bridges Of only local Importance
and lust as almost all the towns In the state
are Accustomed 10 support at their own ex-
pense. The only surprise Is that In COM
mittee Of ten, there should have been found
two who failed 10 understand the facts Of so
plain a case. III the two Houses of the Leg
islature could view these bridges as the COM
mittee did we believe there would be few, II
any, votes against the proposed change and
when the change Is made there will be few
intelligent men either In the town OF Deerinf
or in the town Of Westbrook, who win mol
say it was wisely and properly done. The
u. 4